Monthly Archives: April 2025

Next morning the crew were up for an early breakfast before being shuttled by van to the Manuel Antonio Reserve. After a thorough search of everyone’s bags at the gate and some confiscation of items not allowed, the group broke into three – two groups going with guides and one group following Criss. After lots of bird and wildlife sightings the groups reassembled on the beach where Criss had settled and enjoyed a swim in the ocean. The wildlife highlights were the Capuchin monkeys which were very entertaining along with the sloths. There were a number of iguanas, a deer, some agoutis (a large guinea pig-like rodent), a walking stick-like insect, butterflies. The ocean swims were fun except for the people who were tossed about by the waves and ended up with lots of sand in their bathing suits. There were also a few burnt shoulders.

We all found our own way back to the hotel where we cleaned up and gathered for cocktail hour. Our phones kept pinging as we each posted some of our favorite pictures and videos in our WhatsApp group. What a great way to share them!

The activity slated for tonight was a mangrove swamp boat trip. Dennis picked us up in his van and drove us out to his boat launch where we were loaded onto a shallow rig with single seats along each side. We were warned against all jumping up and rushing to one side to see something lest we all end up in the murky brink. I must say we behaved ourselves. Captain Jeremy ran the motor but he also contributed by finding many of our sightings. Between Dennis and Jeremy we found two boa constrictors, three cat-eyed snakes, a whole slew of egrets, a couple of ibis, two types of kingfisher, jc lizards, a crab, spiders and some grey-cowled wood rails. Jan and I had heard the rails from our room that morning. Dennis gave us a lecture on the mangrove ecosystem with four main types of mangrove trees. They are Red, White, Pineapple and Black. We were treated to a rendition of La Cucaracha which caused the bugs on the water surface to jump with each clap. We headed back under a beautiful red full moon.

Dennis then drove us to his place where we were fed a delicious supper after which we headed back to Villa Romantica.

It was an early start so I had set my alarm for 5:30 but, as usual, I didn’t sleep well so was wide awake to stop it before it went off and Jan was able to get a few extra minutes of sleep.

Criss had sent us info on a bakery nearby so I headed out. Along the way I picked up Bruce and Yves. The bakery was a lively place. Yves led with his order in impressive Spanish then headed back since the obviously popular spot was getting crowded. Too bad cuz Bruce and I could have used his help. Seems they thought Bruce and I were a couple and when I ordered a coffee they kept indicating it was in the bag. Problem was it was Bruce’s bag. Took a fair amount of gestures but I finally got my coffee and a wonderfully delicious giant cinnamon roll.

We loaded our gear into the van and headed for Quepos on the Pacific.

The trip took about three hours with a stop along the way to check out the crocodiles in the Rio Grande de Tarcoles. Looking down from the bridge, the river was quite mucky, making the crocs quite mucky. Jan wanted to go down and clean them off.

We arrived at Villa Romantica at 11:30 and all except two rooms were ready. The rooms were at the back of the Villa along with some lush vegetation and a pool. The bad news was that Jimmy’s luggage had not arrived. Most people ate lunch at the outdoor cafe and then got whisked away for the catamaran outing which began at 1:30. Barb and Dave were under the weather and stayed back for a quiet day.

The Catamaran crew had an amazing time on the party boat. Diane danced the Merengue with Diego and also dove off the boat. She had a somewhat off-kilter entry into the water and hurt her tush. Daver thrilled the crowd with his back flip off the boat. The dinner provided was also enjoyed. They arrived back at 6:30 and continued partying on the outdoor patio.

Our room was quite spacious but lacked any windows to the outdoors – just a couple of openings onto a stairwell privatized by frosted glass.  Turned out that was an advantage because the rooms facing out onto the streets caught a lot of traffic noise. Urban Green was the hotel name  and it was rated four star.  The rest of  our group had a variety of room shapes and sizes and amenities. 

Jan and I opted out of the hotel breakfast and headed for the Central Market to find a restaurant recommended by the front desk.  Turned out it was closed but we got to trek through a busy marketplace full of colour and smells. We ended up backtracking to a bakery we had passed and had a couple of pastries with our cafe con leche.

When Jan and I returned the rest of the group wanted us to show them the market so we headed out with group in tow for a tour of central San Jose. Somehow, while wandering among the market stalls our group lost four members. Turns out that our decision to forget getting local sim cards and just rely on Whatsapp isn’t a reliable way to communicate with each other unless we have internet. Happily though, we ended up reuniting at the Children’s Museum about an hour later. Meanwhile we unknowingly hiked through one of the seamier and more dangerous areas of the city to get to the museum.

Next to the museum was a wooded area that was full of interesting bird calls which Merlin was able to identify like the Great-tailed grackle, the clay-coloured thrush, the rufous-collared sparrow, the blue-gray tanager and a great kiskadee, amongst others.

We did end up returning to the hotel unscathed. Jan headed off for lunch with her friend Joanne who lives just outside the city while the rest of us wandered towards the pedestrian area of the Avenida Central where we ended up at Spooners – a slightly pricey restaurant with quite good food. Diane was actually able to find a solution to her damaged bag along the way. She found a store that sold luggage straps. Problem solved.

We all made our way back to the hotel after lunch. One group went off to check out a museum. Dave and Barb Young decided to lay low to try and recuperate from a bug they both seemed to have picked up. I rested in the room until Jan returned with her friend Joanne. Joanne wanted to meet me to tell me about micro-dosing as a method to control essential tremor. I will have to talk to my doctor when I get home.

Diane and Rick invited us all to cocktail hour in the 5th floor lounge and then we went off to another lounge to get our G-Adventures briefing from our guide Criss. This trip is full of possible activities – lots of hiking, birding, swimming. Jim was hoping to be able to go deep sea fishing but he needed some others to join him. If the cost hadn’t been so high I would have loved to do it but it was out of my league.

Supper was a group event at a restaurant chosen by our guide, Criss. The walk there and back proved a bit of an obstacle course avoiding gaping holes in the sidewalk – not the most accessible area. Table discussions were lively as we all were getting to know each other. Too bad Dave and Barb were still not feeling well enough to join. It was late when we returned so we all retired to our rooms for an early start the next day.

Due to the crazy traffic coming into Toronto, our limo driver took us on a round-about route that put us in mind of a plane circling the airport waiting for a runway. Six of us had met at Rick and Diane’s place just south of Erin where the limo picked us up.

Manoeuvering through the airport was relatively easy and we were through security in record time.

Diane and I were peckish and thirsty so when we spied a wine bar, we made a beeline there. Funnily enough we ran into the Cobourg and Brampton gang already imbibing. It was a perfect little spot to whet our whistles before heading to the departure gate.

The flight was relatively uneventful with a really poor choice of movies. Sue and Dave were ok cuz they had downloaded movies from Netflix.

Somehow along the way Diane’s suitcase suffered a surgical incursion so on arrival at the San Jose airport she was found frantically stuffing clothes back into the bag. Noone else had any complaints so we loaded ourselves onto the G-Adventures van and headed to the Urban Green Hotel.

It was approaching 11 Costa Rica time (1 am our time) so we headed to our rooms.